Toon Friend Needs to Vent
by Toon Friend
Summary: I REALLY need to get this out of my chest. This is pretty much a rant on why Rebooted has been VERY disappointing. Read if you're not a fan of Rebooted either. (contains strong language) UPDATE 5: Now with my opinions of the newest season & if I'll watch it on TV or not. (Warning: MAJOR spoilers ahead)
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, guys. I'm not one for wasting your time with long rants but I REALLY have to get this out before it makes my head explodes. I'm basically gonna rant about why the ridiculous romantic subplots of Rebooted are ruining the characters we know &amp; love, &amp; why Pixal (so far) has been a VERY disappointing character. Before I get on to my rant, I'll get the disclaimer over with first.**

**I don't own Ninjago. It belongs to LEGO. Now let me waste your time with my rant.**

To any of you who bothered reading this, I want you all to know that I do NOT intend to sound whiny. I just want to let out my opinions, NOT shove it down your throats. My opinions may not even be correct because that's what they are. Opinions. If you disagree, the least you can do is tell me why in a calm manner but I'll let you have them.

Let's get started.

I pretty much felt like this for a long time &amp; I can't keep it in any longer &amp; I just want to let it all out. It's pretty much why I'm writing this. I'd be lying if I say that Rebooted sucks. I DO enjoy it but it also has a bunch of problems that makes me… not like it was much as the first seasons and here's why.

The romantic subplots are actually dragging the characters down the mud &amp; why Pixal is a MAJOR disappointment.

First up is that goddamn love triangle everybody hates! Of course I'm talking about Cole/Nya/Jay! It completely ruined their characters and here's why!

I'll confess. I write Ninja/OC stories but I don't hate the love triangle because of Nya 'stealing' Cole!

SHE. DID. NOT. STEAL. HIM.!

He was never paired up with anyone up till now in the show &amp; he hasn't even officially hooked up with her! Here's the REAL reason why the love triangle is bullshit!

Ever since they found out Nya may choose one of them no thanks to Pixal *glares at her* all Cole &amp; Jay ever do in the show is squabble over her! Jay was a funny guy who truly cared for Nya and was devoted to her while Cole was the strong reliable leader whom the ninjas can count on but the love triangle reduced them to nothing but petty rivals over Nya's affection! Nya herself still proved to be a badass but I hate that this season makes her 'dilemma' over choosing a boyfriend her 'main' purpose in the show! It's sad, really.

Speaking of purpose, I previously mentioned that I find Pixal a VERY disappointing character.

Here's why.

Out of all the characters who aren't much loved in the show, she has it worse than any other character in the show! Even the OVERLORD doesn't get as much hate as her! It's ridiculous!

Her 'crime'?

'Stealing' Zane!

Because of that, Pixal is possible THE most hated character in Ninjago! I'm definitely not a fan of her but it's ridiculous! Zane's just a fictional character &amp; he was never paired up with anyone in the first place! I'm NOT a fan of Pixal but all the hate she gets makes my blood boil and it takes a LOT to do that! But that's not why I don't like Pixal!

My reason for not liking her is because she is a character with a lot of potential, and she still does, but the writers are not giving her the chance! They create a character who would've been a great addition to the team but they designate her to a one-dimensional love interest. She's pretty much the Lego version of Zoey from Total Drama. Ever since she joined the ninjas, her mind COMPLETELY revolved around Zane and doesn't even interact with the others! Not even Cyrus who's technically her DAD for heaven's sake! She doesn't even go through ANY development at all! All she ever does is say 'be careful Zane' whenever he's around and when he isn't, she does nothing but talk about him!

Even their relationship is ruining Zane's character!

The Zane we know and love is the sweet yet badass nindroid who takes his duties as a ninja seriously but ever since he hooked up with Pixal, all he wants to do is be a nindroid husbando for his nindroid waifu. The writers basically turned him into Pixal's bitch.

That's also one of the reasons why I don't like this couple.

For me, Pixal/Zane, or Pixane as some people call it, is one of THE worst couples I've ever seen in any form of fiction. Again, I'm guilty for writing ninja/OC fics &amp; like the good ninja/OC stories where the couples ACTUALLY take time to know each other, but even if I didn't, I'd still feel the same way about this shallow couple. Yes. Pixane IS shallow. They're pretty much the Bella/Edward of Lego.

Their relationship is WAY to codependent and I swear, the ONLY reason they like each other is because they're both nindroids! It's shallow! They basically said 'I love you' right off the bat and it doesn't help that the writers and even some Pixane fans are romanticizing codependency! Codependency is NOT romance! It's unhealthy and can even lead to destructive behavior!

Here's a comparison between Pixane and a REAL relationship.

In a real relationship, a man and woman actually take time to know each other and know they can't be together ALL the time. Whenever a couple is separated, it's understandable for one to get worried for the other but it's important for them to know that they can take care of themselves so they can branch out as individuals. Pixal and Zane literally clung to one another during the entire season and they barely know each other. They even say they belong together solely because they're nindroids.

I dare you to say that that's NOT shallow!

If you've made it this far, congratulations.

As a reward, here's a little story.

_Toon Friend was browsing her local Lego Store, admiring all the sets they had. Unlike what those insane whiny OC-obsessed Ninjagians on Deviantart believe, she knew that Lego was WAY more than just Ninjago and the Lego Movie. They also have TMNT, Star Wars, Legends of Chima, even though she wasn't a fan. She DID try to give it a chance but she didn't find the appeal. At the same time, it was unfair how the whiny Ninjagians hate Chima without even giving it a chance. But she also heard that Bionicle was coming back and she was looking forward to it._

_But the peace was interrupted._

"_F$&amp;K YOU PIXAL! I F$&amp;IN' HATE YOU!"_

_Some crazy girl who looked no older than twelve punched the Ninjago set that included Pixal._

_Yeah. Way to behave in front of little kids._

"_DUDE! WHAT THE CHEESE!?" Toon Friend couldn't help but ask what this psychopath's problem was._

"_THAT BITCH!" The crazy girl screeched, "IT'S ALL HER FAULT!"_

"_For what!?"_

"_IT'S HER FAULT ZANE IS DEAD!"_

_Although she was upset over Zane's 'death', Toon Friend knew better than to blame a fictional character for 'killing' another fictional character. Besides, Zane wasn't ENTIRELY dead. He just didn't have a physical body anymore. She left this psycho bitch up to the staff as she briskly left the store. She still liked Ninjago but she wanted nothing to do with the insane part of the fandom. This was one of those times she was actually __**ashamed**__ for liking Ninjago._

Now here's the scariest part of the story…

It's actually true.

I'm not kidding. This was an actual experience I had and some crazy fans are actually blaming Pixal for Zane's fate, which is bullshit!

SHE HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH IT!

Zane chose to sacrifice himself for his brothers out of his own free will! Not because of Pixal! Even if Pixal never existed, he still would've done it anyway!

If that wasn't bad enough, she's even being blamed for this whole 'Rebooted' mess for happening in the first place!

First of all, it was NOT her fault! It's the Overlord's! Pixal was under the Overlord's control when General Cryptor and the nindroids were made! All she did was scan Zane but she would NEVER create an evil army based on his blueprints willingly and she probably scanned him for security reasons or so Cyrus can invent new gadgets inspired by Zane's blueprints.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm starting to think Kai's the only sane guy left but it doesn't help that he's been treated as a background character this season.

I seriously doubt that the new episodes in 2015 will be able to fix all this and I'm seriously considering leaving the fandom once I get my sequel to Chosen by Destiny finished (but I'll still be looking forward to the movie).

But if you still ship Pixane or even Coya (Cole/Nya), I'm not stopping you. Liking those couples is not a crime to me. Everyone should have their opinions and I only want to express mine, not shove it down your throats, but I apologize if I sounded any bit whiny at all.

ForeverDreamer12, if you're reading this and find some stuff in this rant you want to point out or even put into the letter you plan to send to Lego/Hageman Bros, have at it.

Congratulations. You've reached the end of my LONG venting rant.

If there's anything you want to say, go ahead.

Thank you for your time and with sincere apologies to those who love 'Rebooted', Toon Friend.

**UPDATE**

I've made another confession about Pixane, which is now officially my NoTP at my profile. If you have time, check it out &amp; PM to express your opinions.


	2. Chapter 2

**Guess who's back to rant about Ninjago! Yes! Toon Friend!**

**Once again, I have more opinions &amp; shit like that to confess &amp; vent about. First, I apologize if I sound any bit whiny. If you've read this before, you should know that I only want to express my opinions. Not shove it down your throat &amp; I don't mind if you disagree. We should all have our own opinions. Okay, now let me waste your time again.**

As you know by now, I find Pixal a VERY disappointing character. Whenever I see her, I just shake my head but as much as I dislike her, I will NOT hesitate to defend her from those annoying petty fangirls who are STILL acting like jealous brats who can't accept that Zane's just a fictional character &amp; will never belong to them or their OC's. Again, I'm guilty of having OC's but it's nothing more than wishful thinking &amp; I know they'll never be with Zane or the ninjas in canon. I just write it for fun. Besides, those fangirls are giving the message that Zane's some sort of object or property. HE. IS. NOT.! He may be a robot but he has his own free will and if he existed in real life, he wouldn't be happy about being treated as someone's property. If anyone makes a Zane/OC fic and put Pixal in it just to vilify her, that person's dead to me. You seriously can't get any lower than that.

So yeah, I kinda have a love/hate feeling towards Pixal. I still see her as the Zoey (from Total Drama) of Lego but she's also like a female Hetalia character who's hated just for existing &amp; that REALLY grinds my gears. If you really hate her that much, then just leave her alone! Not everyone will like a certain character but that doesn't make it an excuse to bully them! Stop!

Basically, I understand if you're not into Pixal &amp; think she should've done more than being a love interest, but if you're gonna hate her just for being hooked up with Zane, leave. Just leave.

Moving on, we all know another season of Ninjago's being made &amp; it's going to feature the Anacondrai &amp; introduce new characters.

But what's getting EVERYONE's attention is the orange ninja who's possibly named Skylar.

Again, I have an OC who wears orange but I'm not complaining nor do I mind. I know my story's AU &amp; will never happen in canon but I still write it because I enjoy it. Also, I'm actually curious to know more about this 'Skylar' character but lately, I've been getting a bad feeling.

The most common rumor is that Skylar's a girl but Lego hasn't said anything AND Skylar is also a GUY's name but everyone's assuming the new ninja's a girl. Don't get me wrong, I would LOVE to see a female ninja within the show but nothing has been confirmed. If Skylar's a guy, I'll just say 'oh well'. Just like when Rebooted had all the hype before it actually aired, I will NOT believe all these rumors until Lego actually confirms anything.

This also brings me to the 'bad feeling' I'm having about Skylar IF proven to be a girl.

Even though I would LOVE to see a female ninja in the show, there's also going to be setbacks on Skylar's role, which we still know VERY little about.

My biggest concern is for her to be a one-dimensional love interest like Pixal. There's even some rumors going about that she'll be paired up with Cole because his REAL favorite color is orange &amp; it'll bring an end to that awful love triangle.

As much as I hate the love triangle, that is NOT the proper way to end it!

It's pretty much placing Skylar into the role of a 'consolation trophy' for Cole, which is VERY insulting for her (if Skylar IS a girl), and making Cole like her just because she wears a certain color is EXTREMELY shallow! Plus, it's gonna be a VERY bad case of deus ex machina in which a very complex conflict such as the love triangle is unrealistically solved by some miracle out of nowhere. Like everyone else, I HATE the love triangle but if there's any way to end it, end it with Nya's decision on who she wants to be with!

Another concern is the damage that's been done to the characters during Rebooted that might go unrepaired.

Remember when Zane was sweet yet badass?

In Rebooted, he was warped into a clingy husbando &amp; ended up losing his body (but this was his choice alone). As for any hope of him returning, he's in the Digiverse &amp; Pixal still has his blueprints (unless she deleted it which is unlikely of her) so I won't be surprised if any new episodes explore this possibility. But if his personality will still revolve around Pixal &amp; being her bitch, I'm sorry but I just won't be able to enjoy the next season.

The same thing goes for Jay &amp; Cole fighting over Nya if Skylar doesn't turn into a love interest (at least for them). They were both great characters but they've been reduced into squabbling brats &amp; if they can't let it go (sorry Frozen fans) then I can't enjoy them anymore.

The only 'pro' I find is Kai no longer being treated as a background character but god forbid Skylar being the Bella Swan to his Edward Cullen.

But another bad feeling I'm getting is that Ninjago might suffer the same fate as the Simpsons &amp; that Lego's trying WAY too hard to make it their My Little Pony.

The Season 2 finale would've been a fitting ending but rabid fangirls kept whining for Ninjago to continue &amp; now Lego's going to milk that cow until it's bone dry to cater to their demands.

Don't get me wrong, I like Ninjago &amp; would love for it to continue but we all must remember that nothing can last forever. Book series like Harry Potter has ended, TV shows have come and gone, and even we will all die one day. I hope the movie will be a definite ending to the Ninjago theme before Lego &amp; even the Hageman bros would want to move on with new ideas. Everyone moves on with different things &amp; when the day comes when the Hageman bros want to do something new, the least the fans can do is respect their decision, not condemn them for broadening their horizons.

This brings me back to why I don't want Ninjago to end up like the Simpsons.

The Simpsons have been going on for MANY years and as the years go by, the 'quality' of their episodes dropped. They had actual plots &amp; great humor but now, it's all about fads, guest stars, the latest 'trends', &amp; the humor has gone down the drain. I don't want Ninjago to go down that road but I feel like they've already jumped the shark with Rebooted.

Lastly, the more I think about the next season's plot, the more I feel like this is something straight out of a bad Disney sequel.

I'm not saying ALL sequels are bad. Some of them are actually good but it's usually whenever the movie or book has been planned into a series beforehand. Then there's the bad ones like Disney movies. Remember when you see the ending &amp; feel happy that the princess has her 'happily ever after', or the protagonist is hailed as a hero? Yeah, the ending's good but then the fans whine for more so the company churns out a plotless sequel filled with bad 'humor', too much focus on comic relief, characters being OOC, &amp; above all, those 'consolation' love interests I talked about earlier.

Seriously, I would hate for Ninjago to go down that road to the point even the most devout fans would cry 'Stop! They're already dead!' (Yeah, a reference to the GOOD Simpsons)

In conclusion, I'm NOT saying all this WILL happen! If the next season is good, I'll watch it but if my fears have been confirmed, then I'm DONE. I'll officially give up on Ninjago but I WILL continue to write stories, hang out in FanFiction, &amp; will still watch the movie.

If you've made it this far &amp; have read my previous rant, you are a saint for putting up with me &amp; my inner Foamy the Squirrel. Congratulation.

Now, if you have ANYTHING you'd like to say, go ahead. Even if you disagree, just tell me. It's not a crime to disagree with me. The Internet should be a free place. With sincere apologies for wasting more of your time, Toon Friend.


	3. Chapter 3

**Here we go again. Another rant about how far Ninjago has fallen &amp; why I've decided to lay low from the fandom for a few days because of the fangirls who act like the life of a fictional character is more important than a real person's. Like my other rants, I don't expect you to agree with me &amp; I don't plan to convert anyone. Now let's get this over with.**

To those of you who agreed with my rants, you'll know that Rebooted has been a TERRIBLE case of character derailment. I don't even like some of the characters as much as I used to back when I first watched Ninjago back in 2012 so first, I'll give you a rundown on how Rebooted ruined most of the main characters.

First, here's my list of favorite ninjas (plus Nya) when Ninjago supposedly 'ended' in 2012.

6\. Jay because there were times he seemed to be nothing but an annoying comic relief character but there were times when he got serious &amp; his relationship with Nya was so sweet. He was my least favorite ninja but I didn't hate him at all. He's likable but I just don't like him as much as the others.

5\. Kai since he had a LOT of moments where he seemed to be an arrogant jerk but he was all in all a great guy and truly cared for his loved ones.

4\. Lloyd. I know he was the focal character but he didn't exactly 'click' with me as much as the ninjas but he was generally likable.

3\. Nya. She was just so awesome back then. She was a beautiful yet strong girl who didn't take crap from anyone, not even the guys. She may have been a love interest but she didn't let that be the only thing she's good for, unlike Pixal. *cough*Bella Swan*cough*

2\. Zane, the fan favorite even before Rebooted aired. I just loved the dynamics between him and the others. I really enjoyed how he was a robot but he was still one of the guys. He was also so sweet yet took his duties as a ninja seriously.

1\. Cole. He was my favorite because he was everything a leader should be. He was always looking out for the ninjas and also took his duties seriously. He's also my favorite because I understood how he felt with his father. I also go through similar things with my mom and how we often argue. Like Lou, she wants me to be more like her but I don't want to, so I know exactly how Cole felt during that episode. BTW, who else thought that growl at the end of the Triple Tiger Sashay was sexy as hell? I actually blushed when he did that! XD

Now ever since Rebooted, the atrocity of a season that should've never been made, aired, the characters have been ruined and now, here's my ranking based on how badly the season ruined them.

6\. Zane. Yes. The focal character of this season has become my least favorite main character. All he ever wants to do now is be a husbando for his disgustingly one-dimensional waifu, Pixal. I know I've said it several times but their relationship is the very definition of codependency and it's pretty much the Bella/Edward of Lego. Another factor for him being so low is that the writers gave him a bad case of special snowflake syndrome that always rears its ugly head whenever Pixal isn't around. I don't want to sound mean but I'm starting to think his 'death' may have been a blessing in disguise like an old diseased dog finally being put out of its misery.

5\. Nya. Oh Nya, what have the Hageman bros done to you? You were such a BAMF and now, you're just a rope in Jay and Cole's stupid tug-of-war game. Again, this is not Nya's fault. It's the Hageman bros' fault for trying to shove as much clichéd romantic subplots as possible so I don't want to hear anyone accusing her of being a 'bitch' or a 'whore'. But what really irritated me was when she was all 'like I'll ever tell' when she saved Cole and Jay. They made her sound manipulative. It would've been more realistic if she didn't even answer at all. At least she wouldn't have sounded so… OOC.

4\. Cole. I also can't believe what the writers have done to him. He was the serious leader before but now, he's so obsessed with one-upping Jay when it comes to Nya, it's not even funny. Even worse are the crazy pro-Jaya fangirls who treat him as the villain. Lately, every Jay/Nya fic I find has Cole placed into the role of the bad guy. He didn't actually DO anything to split them up! It's the love machine who's the REAL bad guy! But god forbid, if Nya chooses Cole, then Skylar shows up, Cole will be like 'Oh, she wears orange so she's perfect for me! You can have Nya back, Jay! The love triangle's solved!' That will only make him appear even more shallow and selfish! I'm begging you, Lego, do NOT let this happen! If it happens, then I'm seriously quitting the show.

3\. Jay obviously had moments where he acted immature and was a total class clown but ever since he started fighting with Cole, he's been acting like a spoiled brat who didn't get the toy he wanted for Christmas. It seems like he doesn't care for Nya like he used to and only wants her back to beat Cole, which is basically treating her like an object or trophy.

2\. Kai's one of the only two main characters who's fairly 'intact'. He would've been number one but this season has treated him like a background character, so yeah.

1\. Lloyd's the most 'intact' character as of now. Unlike Zane and Nya, he goes through some decent character development now that his father's back and his personality is relatively the same. But I'm starting to have a bad feeling that he's gonna be turned into a 'just there' character in Season 4.

So there you go. Now you'll see how warped the ninjas and Nya have become.

Now onto the next topic: the finale of Rebooted is airing in a couple of days but what I'm NOT looking forward to is the fandom overreacting to Zane's death.

Back then, the crazy fangirls dedicated July 4 to him and it made me want to chew on glass. I'm not kidding. Whenever I'm not watching cartoons or playing video games, I'm a history fanatic and I loved that subject even before Hetalia and when you think about the real reason why July 4 is a holiday, it was actually offensive. July 4 is celebrated because that's the day America got its independence and how did they get it? War. None of us were alive back then but during the Revolutionary War, REAL people lost their lives and REAL families and friends lost their loved ones forever. If you're dedicating a holiday already commemorating those who actually lost their lives for independence for a FICTIONAL character who isn't 100% dead, then you're being EXTREMELY disrespectful and offensive. You're basically saying that the life of a fictional character who only lost his body is more significant than those of real people who've actually died and can never go back to their loved ones. When I first heard of the 'Zane Day', I decided to lay low for a few days and that's pretty much what I'm going to do. I won't be surprised if these crazy fangirls actually dedicate Thanksgiving to him. *shudders*

Now here's one more subject about this that I hope will never happen. I must warn you, this may be a little touchy but I'm gonna say it anyway.

I don't know if this is true because it's been a rumor that went around at the time but I heard that one fangirl actually CUT herself because of Zane's 'death'. It was the most sickening thing I've ever heard. I was VERY sad when he died but that's just disturbing and that fangirl took it WAY too far. You do NOT commit self-harm just because a cartoon character died, or ANYONE for that matter! I understand if you're all depressed but that's NO reason to mutilate yourself! No matter how much I like(d) Zane or even the other characters, they're just cartoons! They're not real so they're not exactly alive to begin with! If you REALLY have the urge, GET HELP!

There. I'm done.

Way to go, fandom. Congratulations for making us Ninjagians and even Ninjago itself look bad.

To keep this from disobeying the FanFiction rules, here's a drabble.

The ninjas were just derping around in the Bounty when Jay came back carrying what looked like a microwave.

"Guys! Guys!" Jay yelled, being the spaz he is, "I went to the toy store and now, they're selling microwaves! I finally found one at our price range!"

Zane got up to look at the 'microwave' and noticed something wrong.

It wasn't a microwave.

"Jay…" The nindroid began, "That's an Easy Bake Oven."

The Easy Bake Oven: $64

The look on Jay's face: Priceless


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi everybody! It's-a me! Toon Friend! And I'm back with another rant to waste valuable time! As I've said in all my rants, these are just my opinions, nothing more. You're NOT obligated to agree with me &amp; I do NOT intend to shove my opinions down your throats so I apologize if I seem like it. Now let's do this thing!**

I really want to get this out of my chest but I want to express how I really felt about the newest season.

It was actually good. In fact it's much better than Rebooted BUT… there were still a bunch of major issues that made me not like it as much as I hoped. Don't get me wrong. I don't exactly _hate_ it. I just think there were a bunch of aspects that made it fall short.

Before I get started, here's the ups.

First, I have to admit, the plot of a Hunger Games-esque tournament with a bunch of people with elements the ninjas have never met before still sounds cliché as hell when written on paper but the show managed to give the contrived plot a great 'execution'.

Next, the elemental masters themselves were pretty interesting &amp; I'd like to know more about them. Perhaps they'll show up in the next season…

Third… dragons. Nuff said.

Fourth, this season gave some backstory on Ninjago itself such as the Serpentine Wars, the original elemental masters, &amp; the relationships between Garmadon, Wu, &amp; Misako.

Fifth, the love triangle is resolved (for now). Cole has finally stepped down but I still don't think Jay deserves Nya anymore with the way he acted in Rebooted. I'll explain it later.

And finally, Skylor didn't end up being Cole's 'compensation girlfriend' just for wearing orange. Words can't describe how relieved I was when it didn't happen… but I still have some problems with Skylor &amp; we'll get into that a bit.

But now, here's the problems &amp; if you've read my previous rants, you'll know that things will get ugly from here on out.

One of the biggest issues for this season was that there was still some character derailment, especially Cole. I miss the good ol' days when the writers actually gave a shit about him. To be honest, the new Cole's an idiot. He's nothing more than Jay 2.0 but if possible, dumber. All he ever thinks &amp; talks about is food &amp; I know he was obsessed with cake back then but this is taking it WAY too far! He even acted like a giddy schoolboy &amp; was being a total sellout when he was told he's gonna work at the noodle factory. I mean, come on! The Cole from previous seasons wouldn't do that! His original leader personality was basically given to Lloyd &amp; he was cast aside as a background character. He was my favorite character &amp; it makes me SO mad how biased the writers have become towards Lloyd but we'll get into that later.

As with everyone else, I'm glad that Zane's back but… I'm still VERY uncomfortable with his new look &amp; personality. I know you all wanna kill me here but I honestly think his new body is creepy as hell. At first, he was supposed to look no different than any other human on the outside &amp; then BAM! He's now made as robotic as possible! EVERYTHING is made of metal, even his hair, &amp; his voice I could've listened to all day is ruined by that annoying robotic echo! If that wasn't bad enough, his new body's the perfect breeding ground for 'special snowflake syndrome', which he already had a bad case of in Rebooted but is now taken to even worse levels here. Sometimes, he goes on about how he's 'just a copy' &amp; with his new body &amp; personality, I really feel like that's the case. First, I know that he would have a different body after his 'death' but did they really have to pick something so creepy? Also, I would've thought dying once would've given Zane a deeper perspective of what makes him a living being, whether he's man or machine, but he did nothing but whine &amp; mope. Because of his new body &amp; personality, I just can't see Zane the same &amp; he's nothing but a shadow of what he used to be. He's like a completely different person &amp; it really turns me off.

Also, I know I'll sound like a heartless bitch but… I had absolutely no sympathy for what happened to P.I.X.A.L. As I said many times, she was a good-for-nothing robot copy of Bella Swan. When Zane found her I was like 'Leave her! You deserve SO much better!' but he just HAD to put her in his brain. Some people are saying it's romantic but it's not! It's their codependency at its worst! Zane was basically saying he _literally_ can't live without P.I.X.A.L. by his side 24/7! It's just like Elsa when she sang 'Let It Go'. She seems to embrace her powers &amp; who she was when she was really just saying 'F**k you! I have ice powers &amp; a sexy dress!' &amp; that's what that scene was! It seems like an 'eternal bond of loyalty' when it's really just their serious case of codependency taken to a new all-time low. I know there's gonna be a lot of flames here because I'm pretty sure I'm the only person here who HATES Pixane with a burning passion.

As for Lloyd, I feel like he's being given too much credit when he didn't really do much this season. All he did was give a couple of speeches the ninjas should've given &amp; that's pretty much it. You'd think after all he's been through, he'd be independent &amp; mature but he wasn't. He was completely dependent on his Dad. I know they'd wanna make up for lost time but there's a difference between rekindling family bonds &amp; being an immature brat who can't do anything at all without his all-knowing father. Even when Garmadon sacrificed himself, Lloyd STILL gets all the credit because of the writers' bias &amp; that's why I'm starting to dislike him.

Another issue I had with this new season was Skylor's 'placement' within the plot. Don't get me wrong, I don't have a problem with Skylor herself. At least she wasn't some P.I.X.A.L. 2.0 &amp; she was interesting on her own but I felt like she was treated as nothing more but a tool &amp; became a damsel-in-distress towards the last episodes. I also hoped she wouldn't be a love interest AT ALL. For once, I'd like to see a major female character who won't be some forced love interest but alas, the writers just HAD to make her the hero's girlfriend. I'm honestly tired of seeing every major female character having to be a nothing but a subplot love interest &amp; I was hoping she'd be a break of pattern but yet again, I'm disappointed. I heard some fans are bashing her for 'selling out' by deciding to manage the noodle factory but I don't exactly blame her. I understand that after all she's been through, Skylor would want a more peaceful lifestyle but what I hated was how the writers EXECUTED it. They treated it as an excuse to cast her aside &amp; fade into obscurity. They were basically saying 'Your work here's done! Now off with you!' I hate to say this but as much as I dislike Chima, I feel like the female characters there are at least respected &amp; seen for more than just some forced love interests &amp; tools.

As for Kailor… I'm not really into of the couple but I don't downright hate it. It's pretty much the same thing with this season in general compared to Rebooted. I think it had major issues but I'll still give it points for not being as rushed &amp; Twilight-esque as Pixane, even though it still felt just as forced. It still felt like the writers were 'Kai's the poster boy this season so he should get a girlfriend just because'. The reason why I'm not into Kailor is because of this cliché I hate more than anything &amp; avoided as much as possible when I began writing and here it is. In some shows &amp; movies, the villain's best agent happens to be his hot daughter the hero falls in love with. Then said daughter switches over to the good side but not out of her own accord but because of her hormones. Unfortunately, Skylor was no exception to this cliché. Finally, my biggest issue with Kailor is NOT Skylor herself… it's Kai. Just like Zane had with P.I.X.A.L., Kai was all 'I just met you so I love you' &amp; it really frustrated me. Sure, they've had one real moment but that was pretty much it &amp; it was right before Skylor betrays Kai. Also, at least Kai was himself when Skylor wasn't around or wasn't thinking about her but whenever she was, he pretty much became Skylor's bitch &amp; it always had me rolling my eyes. Whenever I see Pixane, I'm like 'Come on Zane. You deserve better.' But when it comes to Kailor, I say, 'Come on _Skylor_. _You_ deserve better.' But that pretty much sums up my view on Skylor as a whole. She was better than P.I.X.A.L. but I also feel like she was a bunch of missed opportunities.

Out of all of this, I'd say that at least Jay's the 'intact' one… for now. But as for Nya's decision, I think she should remain single from now on. I don't think Jay deserves her anymore because I feel like he only wanted her back to one-up Cole &amp; he lost sight of why he loved her. If they do get back together, it just won't be the same cuz she's gonna be nothing more than a trophy girlfriend &amp; it's highly insulting to her. Again, the Hageman Bros write the one good romantic relationship in the show &amp; then they blew it.

Lastly, even though this season was good, I still get this 'we're only doing this so the fangirls will stop complaining' vibe from it. It's obvious they didn't plan to continue Ninjago after season 2 but all the whiny brats with special snowflake syndrome wouldn't stop complaining. Seriously, there are other good shows besides Ninjago &amp; there's so much more to Lego than Ninjago &amp; the Lego Movie. I feel like Ninjagians are SO closed-minded.

It's because of these issues that I'm starting to lose trust with the Hageman Bros &amp; I'm not exactly looking forward to the new season, even though I'll still give it a shot.

Now it's apparent that Lloyd is to the Hageman bros what Frozen is to Disney. His role as the green ninja has already passed years ago yet the writers still give him all the love &amp; attention. I honestly don't blame Kai when he snapped &amp; got jealous of him. As for the other ninjas (especially Cole), they've become the post-Frozen movies, overshadowed, neglected, and pushed aside before being given a chance &amp; now that Lloyd's the focus of the next season, that's another reason for him to get credited for not doing much &amp; the ninjas who do the real work are forgotten. It's sad that what was once a nice show with a good plot &amp; likable characters have gone down the drain just so it can be Lego's My Little Pony.

The only good thing to come out of the next season is that Nya might become a ninja but it might just be a rumor &amp; we'll have to wait &amp; see.

One more thing. To those of you who still ship Pixane, Kailor, or even Coya (Cole/Nya), you've done nothing wrong. I'm still sorry if you've been harassed by the more 'intense' Jaya fans or fangirls obsessed with yaoi (which I have NOTHING against) or Canon/OC. You've done nothing wrong. You're only shipping what you like &amp; as someone who's not into those couples, I prefer to stay in my lane &amp; let you do your stuff. We all have opinions &amp; not everyone's gonna agree on everything so the least the fans can do is accept that.

So what do you guys think? Am I being too cynical? Were my expectations too high?

You're free to express your opinions &amp; again, I apologize for wasting your time.

To keep this rant from breaking the rules, here's a drabble.

The ninjas surrounded Lloyd when he finally woke up at the hospital.

The green ninja was found in an alley in worse condition than they've ever seen him. All his limbs were broken as well as some ribs, he had a hernia and concussion, some missing teeth, two black eyes, and there were even a couple of stab wounds on his stomach as well as some thins spots on his hair as if someone ripped some strands out.

"Lloyd, what happened…?" Cole asked once he was fully awake.

Lloyd looked back on what happened before he ended up in the hospital. Slowly but surely, it all came back to him…

"All I remember was… saying I didn't like Frozen…" He managed to whisper.

The ninjas all had an expression that said, 'That explains a lot.'

"Lloyd…" Wu said flatly, "We believe you."


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay guys! Now that the 1****st**** half of the 'Ninja-Bomb' is done I REALLY want to let out my opinions of this season (so far) &amp; as a bonus, I'll also explain how I feel Rebooted &amp; Tournament of Elements should've gone. If you haven't seen the new episodes, leave cuz there's gonna be spoilers galore. As always, these are just my opinions &amp; I have no intention of shoving them in your faces so… let's get started.**

So far, this season has been a step up from the last two seasons but there's still a couple of issues. Though they're nowhere near as bad as those seasons, it's still pretty noticeable, at least to me. I don't want to sound like a downer to those who enjoy it but I just want to let them out.

One issue for me is the way some of the characters have been acting lately, particularly Jay. I know he's supposed to be the comic relief guy but I feel like he also became a little mean this season. He constantly picked on Kai &amp; he seems to have a generally condescending attitude towards his teammates over the first half of this season.

Speaking of Kai, I feel like he's become something of a whipping boy this season. As I said before, Jay's constantly chewing him out &amp; he seems to have a case of bad luck that'll probably continue into the next half of the season. It seems like the writers have no idea what to do with him (or this series in general) anymore.

The new Zane STILL creeps me out with his new body &amp; voice. The voice changes would've been funny if that stupid echo hadn't ruined his once perfect voice. I also think he's become arrogant because of this. He also has this condescending attitude towards the ninjas &amp; points out their flaws, not to just state the obvious like he used to, but to bring HIMSELF up.

And finally… there's Cole, who had the worst case of character derailment in the last season. Now, he seems to be the 'intact' one. Up until the last episode, he was still shafted by the writers until he became a ghost. It was sad but it gave him a chance to have some actual character development &amp; it was nice to see the old Cole again. Hopefully, the writers will keep this up for the rest of this season.

One up I find is Nya's new role as the water ninja. We also got to see some development for her outside being a love interest or that goddamn love triangle. But this brings me to this speculation I've been having since the last episode.

I have a feeling Nya MIGHT end up with Cole. I'm sure you all saw that little scene where Cole's hand returns to normal when he hugs her &amp; I feel like that's a big foreshadowing of what may happen between them but at this point… I'm done. That's it. I'm done. Jaya is now ruined for me not just because of the love triangle but the aggressive fangirls. They always demonize Cole &amp; act like Jay &amp; Nya did nothing wrong when all 3 of them were at fault &amp; they would harass anyone who likes Cole/Nya even the slightest bit. By now, I don't care who Nya ends up with anymore &amp; if I did, I don't think Jay should be with her because of his new attitude &amp; Cole, whose old attitude is back, is more deserving &amp; I'm not even a Cole/Nya fan. But the least we can do now is respect Nya for making her own choices from now on.

Finally, there's Lloyd. I still dislike him for getting all the love &amp; attention that should've gone to the other characters. The ninjas keep calling him the leader but hello? Do any of you remember when Cole was the leader in the 1st 2 seasons!? Apparently not because the ninjas still obsess with saving him from Morro. If anything, he should be the damsel-in-distress for this entire series. Every season has him getting kidnapped, having to rely on the others to get him out, &amp; then the writers give him all the credit. I miss the old Lloyd who actually had to do stuff and go through character growth to get to where he was but now, the writers just spoon-feed everything to their Ninjago Frozen.

Speaking of which, another problem I have with this season is that it's causing a bunch of fangirls to think GreenFlame (Kai/Lloyd) &amp; Ronya (Ronin/Nya) are canon but those couples are just plain gross. Lloyd's still a kid on the inside &amp; Ronin's way older than Nya. Those couples are practically pedophilia &amp; another problem is that the GreenFlame fans are getting WAY too arrogant &amp; 'in your face' about their favorite couple becoming canon when it technically isn't. Everyone also thinks that Ronin/Nya are canon just because he helped her get to her secret lair &amp; carried her. They're not an item! Ronin was just helping out, nothing more! When he called her sweetheart, it wasn't because of romantic feelings! It was obvious he was only teasing her! I swear, some fans just take things too far.

One more thing that bugs me is that neither Skylor nor the elemental masters have shown up at all, though I'm not TOO surprised about Skylor since she was already an unfairly limited character. Also, why won't Zane get a new body for Pixal? Even if she's the Lego Bella Swan, not even she deserves to be stuck in a creepy nindroid's brain forever.

But don't get me wrong. This season is still better than the previous 2 but it's still far from perfect &amp; has some noticeable flaws.

I think the biggest problem in this season is that it's the _fifth_ season. Ninjago has already been going on for so long that this season kinda has a 'burned out' feeling &amp; the plots for the last 3 seasons have been repetitive. I can tell the writers just want to stop but can't because the fangirls won't stop complaining. Even in Rebooted, I get this 'We can't stop cuz the fangirls won't let us!' vibe coming from the show &amp; it became more apparent as the seasons keep coming. 'Memento mori' isn't just a cool phrase, guys.

I heard rumors that this is the final season but the promo called the last episode the 'season finale'. That doesn't necessarily mean there's a sixth season (god forbid). I'm honestly hoping the rumors are true because not many shows last this long before they start to collapse onto themselves &amp; Ninjago has already done so, no thanks to the bratty fangirls. It's still possible that this is the last season but the SERIES isn't over. Take Phineas &amp; Ferb for example: the fourth season was their last and the last episode was just a SEASON finale, not SERIES finale. Perhaps Ninjago will have 1 or 2 hour-long specials that could bring the series to a close. Although Ninjago has been going on for too long, I wouldn't mind an hour-long special to end it or maybe a 'mini-season' like the pilots. It'll be a nice &amp; nostalgic way to wrap things up.

But I know some of you are saying, 'There's gotta be 3 more seasons! The movie's not coming out til 2017!' Remember when the movie was said to come out in 2016? The people working on the movie seemed deadset on releasing it that year before it was pushed back (Boo!) &amp; if it was released on 2016, then it'll be kinda weird for the show to continue after that. Also, the people working on the movie are NOT the same people working on the show so they probably had their own issues within production. Let's just hope the long wait is worth it.

Now here's the bonus on how the last couple of seasons should've gone. If you're interested in making a story out of this, PLEASE notify me &amp; give credit. Now here we go.

For Rebooted, Zane &amp; Pixal will not happen (I hate that couple too much to even try to redeem it) because Zane would only be captivated &amp; not in love but Pixal, with the exception of Cyrus, dislikes humans &amp; frequently picks on Zane for looking &amp; acting too human. Zane still gives her half of his power source not out of love but to show her that humanity is not all that bad. As the season goes, Pixal starts to see the brighter side of humanity &amp; there's also plenty of Zane VS Cryptor scenes &amp; they have a final showdown while the others deal with the Overlord. Pixal finally decides that humanity is worth saving &amp; is the one to sacrifice herself by overloading with Zane's power source inside her to destroy the Overlord. Zane is incredibly saddened by her death &amp; the power source that was in her is the only intact part of her left and since it was inside her, Zane feels like Pixal truly lives on within him.

In Tournament of Elements, the ninjas already split up but Zane gets kidnapped by Chen &amp; his memories get messed up. By the time the season starts, he's been missing for some time &amp; is publicly presumed dead but the ninjas are continuously searching for him until they're invited to Chen's Island. Kai is not so lovey-dovey with Skylor, who has no romantic interest in him whatsoever &amp; she gets to interact with the other ninjas &amp; the elemental masters also get some backstory on why they came to the island. Through her interactions with the ninjas &amp; elemental masters, Skylor starts to stand up to her father &amp; switches sides not to be Kai's main squeeze but because she has truly changed, even telling him she's not interested in romance. When the battle is over, Skylor actually says she wants a more peaceful lifestyle after going through so much but will actually show up in the next season once in a while to help out on certain missions along with the elemental masters.

So there you have it.

Now what do you guys think? Agree or disagree? Am I being too cynical or nitpicky?

Tell me in the reviews!

As usual, here's a drabble to keep this from breaking the rules.

The ninjas stared at the stew Cole made for dinner. It looked like an ordinary beef stew but knowing his cooking 'skills' they knew better than to assume it'll be good.

Only Zane was brave enough to try it and…

"It's actually delicious." The nindroid said.

And because Cole's normally a bad cook… the universe imploded on itself because of the rift in the natural order.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi guys! I may be in the middle of a hiatus but that doesn't mean I'm gonna stop ranting. Since Wangst-bound has yet to air here in the states, I'm gonna give you one warning. There's gonna be MASSIVE spoilers so if you still want to wait… LEAVE. NOW. As always, I just want to let out my frustrations, not shove them down your throats. So for those of you who have seen the latest season or are just too impatient, let's get this over with.**

As you've just seen, I prefer to call this season Wangst-bound instead of Skybound because that's exactly what this season was: a sloppy Jay-centric wangst fest. Before this season even aired at all, I thought that there could be no Ninjago season worse than Rebooted but when it aired, I was proven wrong. Wangst-bound (at least in my opinion) was MUCH worse and here's my reasons.

It's sad that Ninjago was a genuinely charming show that had actual heart and had its integrity for the first two seasons and has now devolved into a pretentious cash cow trying too hard to keep up with the dark cartoons like Gravity Falls (R.I.P) and Steven Universe that cares more about unnecessary drama and wangst than actual plots and development &amp; it's very telling how far it's gone with this season.

It's obvious that with Jay as this season's poster boy, he'll get a lot of focus. If you've read my previous vents, you'll know that I'm starting to dislike him and then this season took it way off the charts. One thing that REALLY bothered me was the plot 'twist' (aka asspull) of his 'real father'. It didn't make sense because the first seasons firmly established his bond with his parents and to put in such a last minute 'twist' in their efforts to try too hard to force us to feel bad for him and that's basically what went on the whole season. There was WAY too much Jay wangst that was just there to get a rise out of the fans and I would've at least TRIED to feel bad for him if it weren't for the writers constantly shoving the 'poor lightning boy' in my face!

Another thing that annoyed me was the lack of 'unity' amongst the ninjas. One of the things I enjoyed about Ninjago was that the bond between the ninjas was strong and you can really feel it even during the fourth season before they reunited with Zane but it just wasn't there this season because the Hageman bros now care more about pointless wangst than actual plot and character development. Of course since they've forsaken their integrity unlike Alex Hirsch and fill the show with as many badly written tropes as possible and blatant pandering to the whiny fangirls who have nothing better to do than even try watching another show.

As for the other characters, I felt like they were almost immediately pushed aside just for the sake of the writer's precious wangst, especially Kai who was imprisoned within only a couple of episodes. It's still a bit understandable with Jay being the poster boy and they did that with Zane and Lloyd (Kai doesn't count for Season 4 since it felt more like a 'Garmadon' season than a 'Kai' season) but the shafting the other characters got from the writers was worse here than any other season and it didn't help that Jay didn't get any real development as a character, just a bunch of wangst thrown at him and having it shoved in our faces.

Another thing bothering me was Echo, the rusty copy of Zane. Again, his appearance felt very 'forced' and more like an asspull than a legitimate plot twist and given what happens at the end of the season, he's yet another character with potential only to get thrown away. It seems like the Hageman bros now have a thing for dangling potentially great characters in front of us only to throw them away and forget about them like they did with P.I.X.A.L. and Skylar, who still didn't get enough significance beyond being Kai's main squeeze in her cameo.

Lastly, there's the finale which have had a significant number of fans accuse as lazy writing and I must say… I agree.

If you've seen the finale, you know that in the end, Jay pulls off a Fairly Oddparents-esque 'everything's back to normal' wish and it's like this season never happened in the first place. It pretty much rendered this whole season pointless, even though it already was. Another thing that pissed me off was how it completely undermined Nya's death. Just like everything else that happened in this season, her death had no significance other than to add another event in the wangst pile and since it was rendered moot, it pretty much makes her death one that is just there for pure shock value and when it comes to killing off characters or just writing a scene involving death, that is THE WORST way to do it and if I had even the slightest ounce of respect for the Hagemen bros right before that, it's completely wiped out with such an terrible move.

It's now painfully obvious how low the Hagemen bros have gone and for what? Just to keep a bunch of fanbrats groveling at their feet? So they can get the lion's share of Lego's profits? Only they know the answer.

Unfortunately, there's gonna be a seventh season with Cole but with how far Ninjago has fallen, I don't think I'll be able to enjoy it, no matter how much I used to like Cole and I don't think I'll even watch this season on TV. It's that bad.

But this is pretty much my problem with Ninjago now. I feel like it's now trying too hard to be unnecessarily dark. Don't get me wrong. I actually like dark cartoons and games, especially when the plot, in-universe backstory, or even the setting and characters call for it, but I HATE it when a show is dark just for the sake of being dark and that pretty much sums up Ninjago now. Even before Rebooted, Ninjago did have its dark moments but it wasn't overboard and was relevant to the plot and character development back when the Hageman bros actually gave a damn about it but now, all the dark moments feel like they're just there so the show can catch up with other cartoons and it's sad. It's like seeing those kids who forsake their true selves and personalities to blend in with the 'cool guys' and end up making themselves look stupid and having to pay such a heavy price for it.

Now I've decided that in my mind, Rebooted and the seasons beyond do not exist. The ninjas will still be their formerly lovable selves and no clichéd romance or wangst. Again, these are just my opinions and as the title says, I just want to vent, not force my opinions on you guys. Let me know if you agree or disagree on anything. I'm sorry for wasting your time and here's a drabble.

The ninjas found themselves in yet another scuffle with the Serpentine. This time, Skalidor managed to get to Zane and rip his arms out.

"Let's see how strong you are _now_!" The Constrictai taunted, waving the detached limbs in front of the white ninja.

"Who needs arms with legs like these?" Zane retorted, still able to deliver kicks and summon ice through willpower alone.

For some reason, Jay started snickering over the nindroid's remark.

"Seriously, Jay?" Kai raised an eyebrow at the blue ninja.

There were times he seriously wondered if there was something wrong in Jay's brain…


End file.
